Pandit Ravi Shankar Passes Away 1920 - 2012

(Pandit Ravi Shankar Born: April 7, 1920 Pandit Ravi Shankar Died: December 11, 2012)

Pandit Ravi Shankar (7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) often referred to by the title Pandit Ravi Shankar, was an Indian musician and composer who played the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician.

He had been admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, San Diego last Thursday after he complained of breathing difficulties. He breathed his last at 4.30 p.m. Pacific Time Tuesday.

He is survived by his wife Sukanya Rajan and daughters Anoushka and Norah Jones. He also had a son, Shubhendra Pandit Ravi Shankar, from his first wife Annapurna Devi, who died in 1992.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described his death as the passing away of an era. He said in New Delhi Wednesday that Pandit Ravi Shankar was a "national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage".

Pandit Ravi Shankar was awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1999, and received three Grammy Awards. He was nominated for a Grammy award for 2013 too.